WHAT IT IS
The Mandela Effect – a phenomenon that hit the internet in 2009 and something we have been running with ever since. Slowly, all our false memories were being brought to the surface and we all thought we might be going crazy.
The Mandela effect started in 2009 by Fiona Broome, when she pointed out something regarding Nelson Mandela’s death. Supposedly, many people remember that Nelson Mandela died in a South African prison back in the 1980s. Truth is, he didn’t die until 2013. If he didn’t die until 2013, then how do so many people remember details of his death in the news and on TV?
This being pointed out started a thread of people bringing up other things they swear they remember one way. When a false memory is common amongst a large group or majority of people, it gets considered a part of the Mandela Effect.
There are many examples of the Mandela effect today. From your favorite movie quotes, to favorite characters, to famous logos, we all seem to be remembering things not quite right. So, let’s dive into some of my favorite examples.
EXAMPLES
This one really always gets me. Shockingly, the correct answer is actually Febreze, with only one e between the r and the z. I would easily have sworn if you had asked me that it was spelled febreeze, because to me, that how breeze should be spelled. But think again. Did this one get you?
As I sit here writing this and sing the Flintstones theme to myself, I just cannot imagine adding the extra T in there; however, it is definitely there when you search it up online. I used to watch this show religiously on Boomerang because it was a cartoon my dad loved so much. I swore I had remembered right, but this picture really showed me that’s not the case. Do you sing the song with an extra T?
This is the first example of the Mandela Effect I ever remember hearing about and I distincly remember it shook my whole life up. I had so so many Bernstain Bear books growing up and it was a frequent bedtime read from my mom when I was little. I was confident that it had to have been an e instead of an a, but once again I was quickly proven wrong. I think the false memory from this one comes from a mispronounciation we all ran with. Was this a childhood memory for you or a mispronounciation?
This is one that Im not entirely sure how I remembered it, but the monopoly man having a monacle just makes sense to me. However, of course, he actually doesn’t. Was this something you had remebered?
This is one that I think gets a lot of people. Again, I’m not entirely sure if I remember KitKat with a dash, or if it is just something that makes sense to me so I subscribe to the idea that it did. However, either way, this one still gets me. When telling people about this one, they often say “well it used to back in the day”, but based on everything I’ve searched, not even pictures of old packaging has the dash. Did this one get you?
SO, WHATS UP?
Are we really all remembering this stuff wrong, or is it something deeper?
Often the Mandela effect is just said to be false memories that we’ve all agreed on; however, some people believe it could be a multidimensional problem. There is some sort of idea based on quantum physics that alternate realties are mixing with ours, causing certain small things to be changed. This would be an explanation for why we all remember something a certain way, but somehow it just simply isn’t how we remember it. Maybe in another alternate reality, KitKat had a dash even though it never used to.
However, this is not something I’m too sure about. In my head, the best explanation would be that we have all convinced each other that we remember something a certain way. Due to certain elements of persuasion such as liking and authority (we are more likely to agree to something if the person is like us or above us), we could all have been easily convinced we remember something that didn’t actual happen. False memories are a very common thing.
Have you ever heard the idea that you can tell a fake story so much in a certain way that eventually you believe it’s actually happened to you? To me, Mandela is just like that.
There are so many other examples that I did not touch on. Such as the way we remember the ending of a certain Queen song, as well as quotes from our favorite movies like Star Wars. I highly encourage you look into more examples and see if they blow your mind.
Do you think were slipping and sliding through multiple dimensions and everything is getting mixed up? Or are we all convinced we remember something wrong because the internet told us we do? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments!
SOURCES
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-mandela-effect-4589394
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g28438966/mandela-effect-examples/
